Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Dammam

For one person, living costs are similar in Playa del Carmen and in Dammam: $1,204 and $1,226 a month, rent and utilities included.

58

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
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Playa del Carmen Living Index
59

Cost of Living Index in Dammam
Learn more

Dammam Living Index

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Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Dammam

🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia

$1,226

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Playa del Carmen and in Dammam

Real prices from locals and on-the-ground checks – rent, groceries, transit and the daily extras. Here's what a month in Playa del Carmen and in Dammam actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,204 in Playa del Carmen versus $1,226 in Dammam.

Playa del Carmen $1,204
Dammam $1,226

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,082 in Playa del Carmen versus $1,857 in Dammam.

Playa del Carmen $2,082
Dammam $1,857

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,959 in Playa del Carmen versus $2,488 in Dammam.

Playa del Carmen $2,959
Dammam $2,488

Monthly costs are close between Playa del Carmen and Dammam; which city is cheaper depends on the spending category.

Both cities sit below the global median: Playa del Carmen 12% lower, Dammam 10% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.92 MX$204

$6.49 SAR 24.35

68.26%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.37 MX$808

$39.23 SAR 147

10.55%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.78 MX$220

$7.78 SAR 29.21

51.41%

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.83 SAR 6.87

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.78 SAR 6.68

Cappuccino

$3.81 MX$71.0

$3.71 SAR 13.94

2.70%

Coke/Pepsi/Fanta/Sprite (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.28 MX$23.90

$0.81 SAR 3.02

58.02%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.78 MX$14.59

$0.28 SAR 1.04

178.57%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.17 MX$59.0

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.93 MX$92.0

Milk (1 liter)

$1.41 MX$26.22

$1.72 SAR 6.45

-18.02%

White Bread (500g)

$2.22 MX$41.33

$1.04 SAR 3.91

113.46%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.42 MX$26.42

$2.32 SAR 8.71

-38.79%

Eggs

$2.52 MX$47.03

$2.54 SAR 9.52

-0.79%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.26 MX$135

$6.79 SAR 25.48

6.92%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.70 MX$143

$7.34 SAR 27.55

4.90%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.69 MX$237

$12.93 SAR 48.52

-1.86%

Apples (1kg)

$2.78 MX$51.9

$2.36 SAR 8.85

17.80%

Banana (1kg)

$1.37 MX$25.50

$1.60 SAR 6.01

-14.37%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.55 MX$47.55

$1.62 SAR 6.10

57.41%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.12 MX$39.58

$1.63 SAR 6.11

30.06%

Potato (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.13

$1.25 SAR 4.67

55.20%

Onion (1kg)

$1.89 MX$35.16

$1.32 SAR 4.94

43.18%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.15 MX$21.37

$1.35 SAR 5.07

-14.81%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.18 MX$21.98

$0.59 SAR 2.22

100.00%

Bottle of Non-Alcoholic Wine (Mid-Range)

$2.84 SAR 10.65

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.73 SAR 6.51

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.03 SAR 7.62

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.30 MX$80.1

$7.26 SAR 27.23

-40.77%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.95 MX$185

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.58 MX$29.52

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.67 MX$49.79

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.55 MX$10.31

$1.04 SAR 3.90

-47.12%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$26.62 MX$496

$40.52 SAR 152

-34.30%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.97 MX$92.6

$2.62 SAR 9.83

89.69%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.33 MX$62.1

$1.89 SAR 7.10

76.19%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.36 MX$99.8

$13.55 SAR 50.8

-60.44%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.44 MX$26.92

$0.65 SAR 2.42

121.54%

Midsize Hatchback 1.4l (Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, etc)

$20.7K MX$385.2K

$27.1K SAR 101.8K

-23.85%

Compact Sedan 1.6l (Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Kia K4, Hyundai Elantra, etc)

$23.5K MX$437.4K

$23.4K SAR 87.7K

0.35%

Utilities for 2 People in 2-bedroom Apartment (Heating, Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage) (85m2)

$84.8 MX$1,581

$105 SAR 395

-19.48%

SIM Card Monthly Plan (Calls and 10GB+ Data)

$23.41 MX$436

$33.70 SAR 126

-30.53%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.66 MX$534

$72.2 SAR 271

-60.32%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$57.1 MX$1,063

$94.5 SAR 354

-39.60%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.91 MX$539

$36.96 SAR 139

-21.78%

Cinema Ticket

$5.14 MX$95.8

$14.61 SAR 54.8

-64.82%

Preschool or Kindergarten, Full Day, Private, 1 Child (Monthly)

$207 MX$3,851

$346 SAR 1,299

-40.34%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,927 MX$73.2K

$7,665 SAR 28.8K

-48.76%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.35 MX$808

$56.1 SAR 210

-22.70%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.44 MX$772

$62.8 SAR 236

-34.05%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$74.2 MX$1,383

$84.0 SAR 315

-11.69%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$89.3 MX$1,664

$81.3 SAR 305

9.83%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$980 MX$18.3K

$440 SAR 1,652

122.50%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$381 MX$7,099

$384 SAR 1,441

-0.85%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,708 MX$31.8K

$889 SAR 3,337

92.04%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,075 MX$20.0K

$627 SAR 2,352

71.54%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,943 MX$73.5K

$1,788 SAR 6,708

120.55%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,158 MX$114.8K

$1,073 SAR 4,025

474.03%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$735 MX$13.7K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

4.42

159.05%

CityCost data is based on AI and user input – minor inaccuracies may occur.

Last update for Playa del Carmen: October 25, 2026

Last update for Dammam: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

Share of the monthly basket for one person, rent included.

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$381 31.6%

Dammam

$384 31.4% 0.9% $3.3

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$255 21.2%

Dammam

$198 16.1% 22.3% $57

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.8%

Dammam

$124 10.1% 38.6% $78

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4%

Dammam

$211 17.2% 54.4% $74

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3%

Dammam

$128 10.4% 14.5% $16

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$67 5.6%

Dammam

$124 10.1% 83.7% $56

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2%

Dammam

$57 4.6% 12.5% $6.3

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $980 in Playa del Carmen and $440 in Dammam. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $43 in Playa del Carmen vs $39 in Dammam for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $255 vs $198 per month, with Dammam cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇸🇦 Dammam

🕒 Local time

17:15 5:15 PM

01:15 1:15 AM

8 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

903,312

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Saudi Riyal SAR ر.س

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.36 USD

100 MXN = 4.82 EUR

1 SAR = 0.266 USD

1 SAR = 0.239 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

SAR, USD, EUR to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 18.64 MXN (100 MXN = 5.36 USD). 1 EUR = 20.75 MXN (100 MXN = 4.82 EUR).

Saudi Riyal exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 3.75 SAR (1 SAR = 0.266 USD). 1 EUR = 4.18 SAR (1 SAR = 0.239 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Playa del Carmen Dammam 13,040 km ≈ 17 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Dammam

Distances are measured in a straight line. Your location is detected approximately.

City Median Internet Speeds Comparison (Updated April 2026)

The chart highlights the Precision Threshold for mobile and fixed broadband internet speeds, updated quarterly.

Digital Nomad Cost of Living Index

Playa del Carmen vs Dammam: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

You’d need roughly $1,806 in Playa del Carmen and $1,839 in Dammam to live well. The gap comes down to housing and overall price levels. Both cities are liveable on less, but these numbers represent actual comfort.

Rent for a central apartment: $980 in Playa del Carmen versus $440 in Dammam. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $207 in Playa del Carmen versus $346 in Dammam. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Dammam – a meal for two runs $39 versus $43 in Playa del Carmen. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

Either city works on $1,500 a month, though Playa del Carmen gives you more room to save. At this income level, the choice is more about lifestyle than financial pressure.

Both cities offer a good standard of living with different trade-offs. Neither is objectively better – the right pick depends on what matters most: affordability, career, cultural scene, or climate.